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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hello Peter and team,

I am considering how to allocate the US and International equity component of my portfolio. I will be using ETF's solely held in my RRSP account which will comprise roughly 40% of my total portfolio, growing to about 45% with new deposits over time. Currently I am using Canadian-based ETF's (XUU, VGG, XMC for US and XEF and VEE for International) but I am looking at using US-based ETF's, with the idea of both reducing costs (lower MER and avoiding withholding taxes on dividends) as well as introducing some currency exposure.

In a response to an earlier question today, you indicated: "Our one comment is that the suggested ETFs might result in US dollar exposure somewhere close to 50% of the portfolio. This might make sense depending on individual needs, but 50% exposure to the US dollar might be a bit high for a lot of investors. " which has led to some follow-up questions:
In general, what would you consider to be an appropriate range for non-CDN exposure? More specifically, what factors might an investor consider in one's own situation to hep decide where in this range is personally-appropriate or whether it makes sense to exceed the suggested range?
I hadn't considered currency risk very closely, so the other member's question was quite timely and I look forward to your response. I have found 5i to be such an invaluable resource, providing so much opportunity for learning about the world of investing.

Thanks in advance,
Rory
Read Answer Asked by Rory on August 09, 2019
Q: I would just like to make a comment. There is a serious potential for a pestilence to come to the Niagra wine country. It is called the Spotted Lantern Fly and has been destroying vineyards in Pennsylvania and has been sighted in New York State. It may have been a bit of an overreaction but I decided to move on from ADW.A.
Read Answer Asked by David on August 09, 2019
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